Council Vs the B Team
by Convergence-Eternal
Summary: In another galaxy, there exists a hostile militaristic Humanity that eke's out an existence at the edge of the galaxy. The Salarians launch a preemptive attack on this shell of a society. Alas those humans had a very powerful benefactor. Set post reaper war, high EMS destroy ending. Good Humanity and the system alliance still exists. Shepard still exists, but he's a d*ck
1. If you want a new problem

Shepard stared at the camera drone. His cybernetic eyes gave off an unearthly red light. And the drones 60k resolution camera captured Shepard's scars with perfect fidelity.

Shepard was tall for a human. Even in a simple suit he gave off the aura of an worrier. Of a an that has been to hell and Come back. At least, most of him came back.

"I don't always drink batarian whiskey", Shepard said as he lifted a bottle of alcoholic drink, "but when I do drink batarian whiskey I drink Verush's Inspiration"

Shepard then downed the whole bottle of whiskey in one go. "Walk in peace, my friends"

The lights dimmed. Shepard dropped the bottle of alcohol. Out of the corner of the eye he saw someone entering the room.

"That was pretty good Shepherd. In another life I think you could have made a great actor"

Shepard shrugged. His dear friend, Counselor Miranda Lawson, had a cat like grin on her face. Shepard wished that he had another bottle of whiskey.

He also wished that the flimsy film set had a chair or something. Instead all of the budget must've gone into animating something cool on the blue screen behind Shepard.

"This was a favor for a friend.", he explained, "Half the proceeds from each bottle of whiskey sold will go to a charity."

Miranda Lawson used her Biotics to raise the empty bottle into the air, and pull it towards her.

"Varren bile, four different types of synthetic sugars, 80 percent proof . . . three bottles of this could kill someone"

"Maybe that's the point", replied Shepard grimly.

Miranda sighed. She dropped the bottle and took a few steps towards Shepard till they were an arms length apart. She could smell the whiskey on his breath.

"Have you . . . Been doing okay", Shepard asked awkwardly

"I have.", Lawson replied. "But- sometimes I just feel like humanity deserves a different representative"

"Humanity deserves the best. And you are the best"

"And how much of that is me, and not the gene editing. I swear that Oriana can match me at everything."

Shepard nodded.

"It's not always about what a person can do, or what they were born with. There were better candidates for the N7 slot that I received. Better men, better women, better people in general. But I got it, because the alliance new that I would do anything to accomplish the mission."

"You think I'm the best candidate because I'm ruthless?", Miranda asked.

Shepard shrugged, "I just know that being a counselor isn't an easy job. And I know that because of your actions Oriana can live a normal comfortable life. I know that you're the kind of person that gets shit done"

"Fair enough." She moved up even closer to Shepard. Till they were just a step away. Miranda was his height. She didn't have to look up at him to stare right into his soul

Shepard's instincts started to scream. The way they screamed before the shit met the proverbial fan.

"I need something from you Shepard.", Miranda said quietly, "it involves a third party that's . . . Interested in your talents"

Shepard closed his eyes. He was really hoping this day would never come.

Miranda put a hand on Shepard's shoulder. "It was the only way to normalize relations with the Salarians. I'm sorry."

"Sur'Kesh. You're really going to send me there."

—-000—

Shepard ran his hands across the barrel of a tired old gun. It was an M29 incisor. Albeit an incisor that was warped and modified far beyond its factory specs.

Kinetic coils were boosted for increased shot penetration. Barrel was cooled by eezo enhanced carbonite molecules. The weapon was calibrated by certain Garrus Vakarian, and the obscenely modified scope made up a third of the weapons weight.

This was one of the guns that Shepard carried. And when he leapt out of a shuttle on Sur'kesh he pointed it at the first Salarian he could see.

"Your friends can come out now. With their hands up"

"We're so glad you came, Shepard", replied the Salarian STG operative.

"Let me guess, you have me surrounded. That means I can fire in any direction I want and I'll probably hit something"

"Absolutely commander.", replied the Salarian, "And there's a chance you might actually win that gunfight. Fortunately we seeded this valley with bombs that are ready to blow at a moments notice. A precaution we introduced during the Reaper war.", the Salarian turned and started to walk away, "There's no time to waste, please follow me commander"

Shepard did follow the Salarian. And he hated every minute of it. Sur'Kesh was humid, and Shepard was pretty sure that half the creatures they walked past were at least a little poisonous. Damn place gave him flashbacks to the Jungle phase of his N7 training.

Eventually, they came to an innocuous cleft in a cliff. A small little gap that one wouldn't notice.

"That's the entrance of the base?", Shepard Guessed.

"No", his Salarian Replied, "That's the entrance to the Ship"

Shepard raised an eyebrow. And then he looked left, and right, and realized that the "cliff" he was looking at was around 2 kilometers long.

"An Fucking dreadnaught"

"Yes commander. Unofficially the largest dreadnaught ever produced. Not that we'd ever advertise that fact. We understand that you humans are proud of your 1.6 kilometer SSV Anderson"

"The SSV Anderson is the best crewed ship in the Galaxy", replied Shepard, " Whatever flashy toys you have crammed up in that tin can of yours can't match the skill and professionalism of Alliance Navy Personnel."

"Come along Shepard", the Salarian said. "There will be time for boasting once our task is finished. First, you should see what our toys can do"

-000-

Lawson's office was a simple dull place based on the Office that existed on the old citadel. There were chairs. But Lawson and the Salarian Dalatrass before her did not sit. They stood across from each other.

Miranda Lawson glared at Esheel, the new Salarian Councilor. "Are you really telling me that your species had nothing to do with the Yaghs uplift?"

" I didn't say that", replied the Salarian Dalatras. She told Lawson, "During the reaper war our species did look into the possibility of Uplifting the Yagh. Shepards victory made those plans irrelevant. Remember Councilor, that Salarian Probes first reported the incident."

Miranda sighed. Clearly, arguing with the Dalatras would get her nowhere.

"Who did uplift the Yagh?"

"We don't know", the Dalatrass replied quickly.

Miranda's jaw almost hit the floor. A salarians admitting that they didn't know something . . . now that was a new one.

"Who are the likely suspects?"

" The Leviathans, Rogue Krogan scientists, Cerberus remnants, a rogue Asari Matriarch, a Turian with a grudge, a rogue STG agent, or . . . well the last theory is absolutely improbable"

"What's the improbable theory?"

-0-

"What the fuck is that thing?", Shepard asked.

The thing Shepard referred to was a massive spinning object the size of a small sun. In the center of it there was a ball of Eezo bigger any planet Shepard had ever seen.

An STG operative suddenly decloaked next to Shepard. Shepard involuntarily drew their side arm and pointed it at the Operatives head.

The Operative, with some difficulty, ignored the gun pointed at their head, "That thing is the reason we're out here in dark space. It resembles the Mass relay system, and it predates the Reapers by 300,000 years"

Shepard lowered their weapon.

"Let me guess, you activated it and found something you didn't like on the other side. So now you want humanity to swoop in and fix the mess you made"

The Salarian chuckled, "were it so simple."

Shepard's eyes drifted towards the massive hideous construct sitting in dark space. Who, or what, could have possibly built something like that?

-0-

Miranda pinched her nose and sighed.

"I know it's a lot to take in", said the Dalatrass.

"It sounds crazy. That there's another humanity that evolved in another galaxy. A harsh militaristic humanity that lives at the edge of their galaxy", Miranda laughed out exasperation, "and they worship a Monarch from earth as if she were a god. If Cerberus was still up and running then they'd probably move to this galaxy in a heartbeat"

The Dalatrass simply nodded.

"That's why we kept this information a secret. If the Asari found out they'd want to send a diplomatic mission. If the Turians found out then they'd want to send in a fleet of warships. But the way forward requires discretion"

-0-

The two kilometer Salarian dreadnought approached the spiny alien object. There was a flash of blue and violet light.

And blindly, those onboard hurdled towards their own damnation.


	2. Martian Blood

Commodore Rotministrov pinched the bridge of his nose. "Are you really telling me that half the sex workers in the system have gone on strike?"

Captain Sale nodded. In her suit of powered armor she stood a good meter taller than the Commodore. But he outranked her. So here, on this 13 kilometer Munin class Destroyer, the Commodore held power over her. Though she could easily break his spine with a flick of her wrist.

"Back on Mars they had the honor of living on the galaxy's greatest War World. There's no honor eeking out a living on some outer world. They expect more than just danger pay for their labor."

"Very well then", replied the Commodore, " I will see what I can do. But I'm not sure the Vice Admiral will approve of more funds getting channeled out here"

The captain had to resist the urge to laugh. "Something tells me that Vice Admiral Anami will approve."

"Yes, yes I think you're right. Perhaps you are right"

Rotministrov's bothered expression morphed into a grimace. "Do you think the Vice Admiral will remember that argument we had on Mermaid?"

Flames, fire, and the smell of cordite assaulted the Captains nose. It had been years. But she could still hear, see,smell, and feel the echoes of her first campaign on that planet called Mermaid.

"I think you already know the answer to that question, Commodore"

The Martian Commodore straightened his back. "You're right captain. But I suppose it can't be helped. I must talk to the Vice Admiral once more. For the good of the Galaxy, and for Queen Serenity. May the Queen watch over us all."

* * *

The Sol system, Humanity's birthplace and the seat of Neo Crystal Alliance power.

Mars was just one world in the Sol system. It's Navy was smaller than Jupiters. And it's finest soldiers were just pale shadows of their Uranian contemporaries. But the Martian Navy did have one bragging point. It had the highest casualty rate of any Military in the Sol System.

Peace was bought with a tide of red martian bodies. It was purchased with a tithe of martian blood. And it was maintained by an populace who knew the cost of war.

Somewhere on Mars there was an office. And in that office one could find Vice Admiral Anami. A fanatically loyal officer kept behind a desk.

She often worked through her planets earth like nights. She listened to the radio while she worked. Usually it was attuned to channels broadcasted from nearby academies. The Students there liked to do late night shows. Listening to them joke around, and read off major casualty statics, brought Anami back to her old school days.

" . . . 14 million dead from an unexpected attack on the border world of Sundry last week. Neptune Inter Service Intelligence says that the aliens behind it possess stealth technologically the likes of which we've never seen. . ."

Vice Admiral Anami knitted her brows together as she casually approved another 89 Martian distinguished service medals. Sundry . . . why did that planet sound familiar.

"By the goddess", commented one of the radio hosts, "if we can't send in reinforcements than this will be the 9th planet that Commode Chair Rotminisuck has lost. I'm surprised that chaos hasn't sent him a thank you letter"

Vice Admiral Anami's eyes flashed red. Ah yes, now she remembered. Sundry was a planet protected by Rotministrov's fleets. She remembered him. He single handedly compromised Martian defensive positions on the planet mermaid. All because he wanted to lure the enemy out into the open instead of resorting to urban combat operations like a true martian leader.

His cowardice had cost countless Venesian and Terran lives. The Martian position wasn't there for show. Their forces were guarding the main bodies rear!

Vice admiral Anami opened up her desk. Inside was a letter that she made months ago. It was a request for a change in duty stations.

With 14 million dead, a mere 4 billion 986 million Martians stood between this new enemy and Sol. Odds like that called for drastic action. They called for an officer that could actually win wars. Vice Admiral Anami knew that Mars needed her on the front lines.

Now she knew where she was needed.

* * *

Captain Sane's office was small. It was covered in dust. The hazy monitors that filled up half of it blinked ominously. Somewhere within their deep cores there was an encrypted message. The Message arrived last night. And Just now, part of the systems blessed silicon-crystal matrix had translated it from encrypted ancient lunarian to simple martian.

Captain Sane laughed aloud as she read the contents of the message.

Vice Admiral Anami was coming. And when Vice Admiral Anami arrived on this 13 kilometer long munin class destroyer that circled the Planet Called Sundry, the Vice Admiral would assume direct control.

Captain Sanes lips curled into uncharacteristically warm grin, "Serenity be praised".

Sirens screeched on the planet of Sundry. Planetary defense guns pointed towards the sky. They pointed towards an enemy that the planets defenders could not see.

Martian psychics had received a vision. A vision of fire and flame. A vision of destruction wrought by another alien ship that hid from sensors.

And, according to the psychics best predictions, the invaders would arrive . . . now.

-000-

"And", the Salarian said, "we arrive safely above the planet."

Stealthed drop pods carrying mutated varren burst from the Salarian Dreadnought. Over the course of 9 seconds the dreadnaughts thanix cannons silenced half of the worlds blindly firing anti orbital defensive guns. The Salarian ship might as well have been firing on a troublesome Vorcha enclave.

Shepard, who was standing next to the Salarian, stared at devastation. Shepard could see the Ember red explosions blossoming from the planet. "Why do you need me, exactly?"

"Fleets can win wars but they can't hold territory. You'll be part of the ground team", explained the Salarian.

"Right . . . "

A half kilometer long ship blinked into existence a short distance away from the Salarian Dreadnought. One short burst from a thanix cannon reduced it molten slag.

"Teleportation is an fascinating trick they have Shepard. Soon we'll discover how they manage it", the Salarian said matter of factly, "and then we can truly help the Leviathans-"

Shepard drew his weapon and pulled the trigger. Salarian brians went everywhere. Shepard tripled timed it to the nearest elevator, and quickly hacked its control panel. He got in. And pressed a button that would hopefully lead to an escape pod, or something.

"Last time I - fuck", the elevator came to a halt. The elevator door opened. Salarian guards opened fire.

A flurry of mass accelerated rounds clattered against an elevator that, to the casual observer, was completely empty. But the Enthralled guards knew better. Once they were done firing they tossed a grenade into the "abandoned" elevator.

That flushed Shepard out.

Shepard rolled towards them as his active camouflage flickered out. The Spectre fought like a cornered rat. He activated his Omni blade and grunted as the blade slice clean through a Salarian.

Rounds slammed into his shields and the Spectre's close combat training took over. He butchered the guards. Their Viscera and blood redecorated the floor, and the walls and the ceiling.

The last shot from the last guard broke Shepards shield.

And before Shepards shields could come back up an even larger group of Salarians came into the room. A group of Salarians that were lead by someone who looked an awful lot like the Salarian bloke Shepard shot just a few minutes ago.

Shepard dropped his gun, and deactivated his omni tool.

"Uh, all hail the Leviathans?", was the last thing Shepard said before he was ragdolled by a hail of concussive rounds.

On the Planet of Sundry, hell broke loose. Thousands upon thousands of gene altered Varren threw themselves at the planets defenders. Ordinarily this would be a hopeless battle. But interspersed among the planets backwater Auxiliary guard there were diamonds in the rough. Martian Officers clad in thick power armor. Ladies of fire.

Erratic magnetic accelerator fire was accented by the deeper thudding boom of a Martian Heavy machine gun. Standing in the streets, with a small band of auxilary troopers at her back, a Martian Lady of Fire was leading the charge. Her Invida heavy machine gun carried martian 13.2 x 85 mm high explosive rounds. This round could harm the mutated varren that now filled the colonies streets. It could kill them.

"Mars guide my blade", the Lady of Fire roared as a colossal Varren Barreled towards her. She dropped the Heavy machine gun and drew a massive tungsten sword. Her blade slammed into the Charging skull with earth shaking force. Cracks appeared in the blade. The Varren recovered from this clash before the lady of fire did. Its massive maw went wide and came crashing down on the Lady of Fires armored neck. Steel cracked and artificial muscle fibers were rent.

The Lady of fire, knowing damn well that this was the end, pummeled the Varren with her fist. The Metal plating on her gauntlet turned red hot from the force of her strikes. With an ear splitting crack the beasts skull cracked. And before it could regenerate the Lady of fire drew a side arm to send half a dozen shots into the creatures brain.

She was too late. The Beast tore her neck open. And it was the Auxiliary troopers that fired the fatal bullets which felled the beast. But as soon as one Varren fell a dozen more took its place.

Across the planets surface such battles raged. Human munitions and Martian blades crashed against the gene modified ravenous Varren.

-0-

Shepard looked up at an unfamiliar ceiling. The Salarians hadn't made the mistake of trying to drug him. No, they'd just knocked him out. A crude method of capture that a enhanced metabolism could not guard against.

And now that Shepard was awake, and he could properly analyze his situation, hope was fading. He was trapped in a mass effect field. He could think, he could blink and breath, but escape would be an issue.

Shepard prayed that someone would come along to explain their evil plan. And then they'd get lazy, or cocky. Maybe they wanted to brainwash him or . . . Shepard didn't know what they were planning. He wasn't sure he cared. He just wanted to get off of this damn ship.

A door opened. Shepard tried to strain his neck to look and see who it was. But that wasn't an option at the moment.

"Orders have changed. The Leviathans want Shepard to be shot"

"Really? But the artefact is nearly complete. And with some time we think that Shepards resistance can be-"

Bang bang, and a body hit the floor. Then another. Shepherd could hear footsteps. The footsteps were getting closer. Out of the corner of his eye shepard could now see the barrel of a gun.

Another shot, then three more in quick succession. The containment barrier cut out. Shepard burst free, and running on pure adrenaline rolled to the floor before leaping to his feet. His armor was gone. His weapons were gone. He didn't even have an omni tool. But the primal thundering in his chest said that it wasn't time to give up. Not yet. No, not yet.

Shepard burst to his full height before exploding down low into grappling stance. In the blink of an eye he calculated the distance between himself and the Salarian with a gun. And at the end of his lighting fast calculations he realized just who the hell he was standing in front of.

"Jondum Bau?"

"Correct", replied the Salarian Spectre, "We don't have much time. The Enthralled crew members have wiped out half of those that resisted. The other spectre's onboard are fighting where we can. But, we could use some one with your talents Shepard"

"You're kidding"

"I wish I was", replied the Salarian Spectre, "Things have gotten pretty bad since we entered this new galaxy. It seems like something is accelerating the progress of those that have been enthralled. Nothing's going right for us, chronic bad luck"

"So, we're fucked"

"Affirmative Commander. If something doesn't change quickly to even the playing field then the enthralled will kill all the loyal Salarians onboard, and return to Sur'kesh in complete control of this ship"

* * *

On the planet the tide was turning. The Auxiliary's enhanced augment's had adapted to the movement patterns of the Varren. And now the towering cyborgs wrought a horrible toll on the gene modified beasts. The 4 meter tall combinations of human and machine were no longer obsidian black. Now every inch of them was covered in blood. And the engineered monstrous varren could scarcely grab a hold of their slick metallic exterior.

Constant fire support from the planets Lancette fighter bombers also helped in evening the odds. Each shot from the crafts 90 mm magnetic accelerator cannons could pulverize entire packs of varren. And, thanks to the crafts nuclear powered ramjet propulsion system, fuel was not an issue. So the craft stayed in the air for hours on end. Their pilots were ruthless. And the mess they made was a sight to behold.

In Orbit something else was happening. Something just as pivotal. An martian officer had arrived on a Munin class martian ship. And she was ready for a fight.

The ship warped from its location on the dark side of the planet to a position near the alien ship. The crew of the destroyer couldn't detect the ship with their powerful sensors, nor could they see it. But the psychics on board could feel the other ships presence. And martian armament did not require precision nor discretion.

"Captain Sale, have you readied your half company"

"Yes, Vice Admiral"

"You'll be going into the thick of it"

The Captain shrugged, "We'll all be dead soon"

Thanix fire slammed into the Munin class destroyers psychic shielding. The shields flickered out. The Thanix cannons cut into the front of ship. Killing goddess knows how many martians. The Vice admiral looked up at a tactical monitor.

"Now we know exactly where the enemy is. Have you ever fought aboard an enemy ship?", the admiral asked while an ensign powered up her ships weaponry.

Seven of the ships 26 XXI fission powered lasers cut into the hitherto unseen alien ship. Their unstable energy ravaged the enemies armored plating. They cut, and boiled, and whole sections of the enemy vessel became visible. Like hideous scars in physical space they appeared.

"Vice Admiral, this will be my first breaching operation aboard an enemy ship"

The Vice Admiral laughed. "Well, you won't be alone in that regard. Our good friend Rotministrov has never boarded an enemy ship. He'll be going with you. Find their leadership and capture them. I want answers captain"

"You shall have them", the captain swore.

-0-

Shepard and Bau had made it all the way to blast doors outside the bridge. They were running low on heat sinks. The security guards they been gunning down were dropping less and less heat sinks. Closer that the spectres got the more dire their ammo situation got.

"Here we are", Shepard said, "that was almost too easy"

"Almost", replied Jondum, "how many heat sinks do you have left"

"Two, plus one that's half cooled in my side arm. You?"

"I'm down to my last heat sink Shepard", replied the Salarian spectre. Up until now we've been gunning down security guards and crewmen. But on the other side of this door there are probably augmented STG agents waiting for us. They're the ones that stole from the security guards stash."

"Why would they do that", Shepard asked.

"Two reasons", Jondam replied, "first off they probably had a feeling that some of the spectres aboard this ship would try to reach the bridge. So they wanted to deny us the means to seriously challenge them. Scorched earth policy. But, there is one other reason I can think of"

"What's that?", Shepard asked. Even though he didn't really want to hear the answer.

"Are you familiar with the Geth Spitfire?"

"Yes"

"Well", replied Jondam Bau, "STG was working on a Salarian equivalent last time I toured their facilities. Less damage per shot, higher fire rate, and higher accuracy. If I remember correctly the targets they used bore your likeness Shepard."

"I'm honored", replied the commander.

"Well, no point delaying the inevitable"

Jondam Bau opened up his omni tool and hacked the blast doors. The heavy metal doors split open slowly.

"Their, focus your fire on the big one" came a scream from a salarian on the other side of the doors. Shepard thought they meant him. But that wasn't the case at all. Because when the doors opened wider the spectre's could make out a fire fight was already underway between the STG operatives, and a distinctly alien faction.

Rapid mass accelerator fire shrieked over the gutteral noise of chemical propellent based firearms going fully auto. Shrapnell struck shields, and mass accelerator rounds ripped through human like bodies. Red blood was everywhere.

The harsh scream of an rapid fire mass accelerator weapon rose above the din. It's frantic roar was cut short when a rocket slammed into the STG heavy weapons team that manned the gun. They burst into flame, and were cooked alive by the incendiary properties of whatever the rocket carried.

"The leadership is probably hiding in some safe room. They'll be farther along"

"So, well have to fight our way through"

"I'm afraid so", replied Jondam, "unless you managed to hide some stealth tech in your prison pocket"

Shepard aimed down the sight of their captured rifle. It was an black market copy of the M-15 vindicator. It wasn't exactly Shepards first choice. But it'd have to do.

"We'll push left, and hug the wall. Let's try to stay out of the way of the hostile humans."

"Good plan", replied Jondam, "we'll see if it works"

The Largely distracted STG operatives gave minimal resistance as Shepard and Jondam pushed forwards. Accurate headshots, and hasty resupplies from dead foes kept the pair alive. At one point Jondam had to pick up a crude looking rifle from a felled human.

Reloading the blasted thing took a little guess work. But Jondam was a quick learner. And he appreciated the rifles x 4 zoom infrared optic. Even if its lethality against shielded opponents left much to be desired.

Five minutes into the fire fight both the Salarian and the Human rank's were thinning out. Shepard and Jondam were far ahead of both factions. But Shepard noticed that one of the alien looking humans was gaining on them. The individual in question was a meter taller than the surrounding troopers. And they wore some kind of advanced armor that let them shrug off fire that was tearing through their allies.

If the group in question was made up of Krogan, and not strange humans, than Shepard would have guessed that individual was the groups warlord.

"You see them too", Jondam said, "think their after the same Salarians we're after"

"Probably", Shepard replied, "guess that means we can't take our time."

"Was that ever an option?", Jondam asked as he prepared an breaching charge on one of the safe room walls.

"Nah", replied the Commander.

Shepard took his place behind Jondam and waited for the charge to go off. This wasn't Shepards first breach. And, with any luck, it wouldn't be his last.

-0-

Captain Sale screamed. She tossed aside her Ioke fire and forget rocket system. She charged past the few badly mauled alien operatives that were still in her way. One tried to get in front of her so he could line up a shot with his Scorpion. Her armored bulk reduced this foolhardy operative to paste as she barreled towards the alien safe room.

She smashed into a large blast door, and felt the metal buckle as inertia carried through the supposedly impregnable barrier. The impact broke her helmets visor, and it rattled all her bones. Reverberations from this impossible collision created microfractures in her tungsten sword. But she cared not.

She drew her blade and brought it down on the nearest alien foe. The tested martial weapon cleaved the salarian in twain. And then, she reached out with one of her hands and snagged a Alien that tried to run. Shattered its arm with contemptuous ease. And then she dropped it and smashed it's legs with a duller section of her sword. The possessed alien let out a scream as her blade broke its cartilage.

Like a ravenous predator she fell on the rest of the aliens. She was a hurricane of steel and rage. She was half way through the group when a wall blew open, and shots rang out. But the shots weren't aimed at her. No, this hail of fire struck down some of the aliens she wanted to capture.

And to her intense confusion one of the individuals fire at the Salarians . . . was a human she'd never seen before while the other was a Salarian.

-0-

Shepard was out of Thermal clips. And is friend Jondam Bau was out of magazines. Before them there was a 3 meter tall warrior surrounded by crippled Salarians.

"Run?", asked Shepard

"Run", Bau agreed.

They both turned and beat a hasty retreat. Shepard saw a elevator and power slid into it while Bau straight up leapt into it. Both of them barely cleared the doors before they closed.

Bau was frantically typing code his omni tool, "I found our ticket out of here. A frigate that's still intact. Its currently stored in a dry dock towards the middle of the ship"

"We don't have any weapons"

"Correct", replied Jondam Bau, " but we do have friends. They'll meet us there"

"And then?", asked Shepard

"And then we do what Spectre's do best. We dodge blasts and apologize for collateral damage."

-000-

"This is Commodore Rotministrov reporting from the Alien vessel. We've taken our hostages. We will hold our position and await further orders"

"Where is the captain?", asked a voice over the radio.

"She is . . . occupied", replied the Commodore.

"Please clarify Commodore"

"The captain is occupied. She is pursuing two enemy commando's without support. She smashed through the doors of a nearby elevator, and leapt down the shaft."

"Understood", replied the voice on the other side of the line.

-000-

"So, we're all that's left"

"That's right Shepard", said Jondam Bau, "Five Spectre's against whatever's left alive on this ship. I like those odds"

Shepard stared at Bau and the other three surviving spectre's they'd met up. Between them they had three working weapons and four thermal clips.

"Fuck it", Shepard said, "this shit can't get any worse. Let's go take that frigate"

Just then the sound of metal buckling was heard. Something very large, and very angry, had arrived. And that something had its eyes on Commander Shepard.

-000-

The Spectres ran through a deserted hallway. They didn't have time to stop or even breath. A 3 meter tall armored soldier was on their tail. And they were gaining on them. Every few steps the pursuer would let loose a feral roar of indignation, and they'd get a little faster.

"I take it back", Jondam Bau said as they turned a corner, "this isn't too easy. It's exactly the sort of challenge i've been waiting for"

Shepard didn't reply. Instead he silently chanted - Fuck this, fuck this, fuukkk this - over and over in his head.

Jondam Bau hacked the next set of doors. This quick half a second long action cost them dearly. The Hulking warrior was closing in fast.

They sprinted down an open passageway that led to an wide cavernous hanger.

"Shepard, you have to get back and tell the council what happened"

"I will, I'll tell them with you"

There was a wild look in Jondam Bau's eyes. "Not enough time", he said.

"Jondam", Shepard half screamed as they closed in on the docked Salarian frigate, "what are you-"

"Keep on going", Jondam said. He took a scorpion from the hip of another Salarian Spectre and he turned, "I'll hold the line"

Jondam aimed his pistol. He was targeting the massive worriers leg joints. He knew her armor was too thick to penetrate without heavy weaponry. But this pistol was all he had. So he'd make his shots count.

The first few shots stuck the soldiers armored knee cap. They didn't blast through the metal. But they did bend and crimp the joint. That slowed the soldier down. Jondams next two shots missed. But he did manage one last shot before warrior closed in. He aimed it at the humans cracked visor.

The explosion shattered it. Raining glass everywhere. And when the 3 meter tall soldier did stop in front Jondam Bau he could now see the rage in her unnatural violet eyes.

Jondam Bau looked behind him. Shepard and the other three were boarding the ship. Today was probably his last day. But he was okay with that. He only had a year or two left anyways. Better to go out now in a blaze of glory. Before things got boring or he had to retire.

The hulking opponent swatted Bau with its hand, and he flew into a nearby shipping container. The impact broke his back. He looked up at the armored opponent and grinned.

The Armored Soldier looked at the ship that was taking off, and then then looked back at thim. There was dawning comprehension in their eyes.

Jondam Bau laughed. He was about to die. But, he'd won.

Slowly the Armored soldier moved towards him. It drew its sword and let the massive blade drag against the bays metallic floor. Jondam bau could see that the blade was remarkable sharp. The tip of the blade left a gash where it touched.

Bau's armored adversary stopped a meter away from Bau. It took off its damaged helmet. The warrior threw it aside. Jondam quickly took in his pursuers features. It, no she, bore a remarkable resemblance to Kasumi Goto. If Miss Goto had violet eyes, wore red war paint, and had a patchwork of scars that covered half of her face.

'Remarkable brutality', Jondam thought to himself, 'her strength and durability is almost krogan'.

The warrior raised her blade. Bau lifted is right arm. One last card to play. He wondered how that massive blade of hers would hold up against an superheated silicon carbide blade.

* * *

Captain Sale muttered a prayer for the alien warrior before her, and then she brought down her blade. It crashed through the crate that the small alien was leaning against. But it halted right above the aliens head. Something was stopping it.

The Captain applied more force. She was met with more resistance. She'd swung her sword so fast that it'd tripped the anti projectile field that the aliens use. Captain Sale roared. She brought her sword up again and brought it crashing down. The blade shattered and so did the barrier. The broken blade was still long enough to reach the Salarian.

But right when the blade was close enough to touch the alien there was a lighting quick flash of red. The Salarian had deflected her blade with one of his. A Blade that was generated by the strange device all the aliens wore.

This deflection superheated what was left of Sale's blade. Her armor was martian. Her armor was built for heat. So she didn't drop her blade. Her blade was martian. It was made for combat against martian drakes. The heat caused no damage.

Sale laughed. "I crippled you, and you still fight. You have spirit Alien. I think that I'll take you alive. After I break every single bone in your body"


	3. If you want a problem talked to death

The New council chambers were almost an exact copy of the original. Save for a few small details. Like an slightly more angular aesthetic. A join Turian and Krogan engineering team built it. They tried to imitate Asari Aesthetics. But imitation can only take you so far.

At the current moment there were two individuals standing in this large space. And one wished the other would just hurry up and die.

Councilor Irissa gave her Turian Counterpart a shark like grin, "I'd thought you'd be happy Sparatus. We're going to war aren't we? Isn't war the thing that Turians love."

The Turian Councilor, who was aged beyond his years, let out a sigh heavier than lead. "Turians love to do their duty. And in our galaxy that duty involves dying on some unnamed field or in the cold vacuum of space. The Salarians gave me the Specs of our opponents. This should be a quick war."

"Come on Sparatus", teased Irissa with a cold mirthless voice, "aren't you glad that your species can gain more territory. You did lose out in the colonization accords after all."

Sparatus nodded. "It was the only way to get your species to agree with the join Council defence plan."

"Oh I thought that was a great plan", Irissa admitted, " I just thought that a dozen new garden worlds would help smooth things over. The Republics weren't loving the idea of a centralized standing army that was 40% Asari. "

Sparatus eyed his Asari Counterpart cautiously, "And now that we are going to war again. To ensure Asari support -"

"Half the worlds we capture, well, half the good ones", replied Irissa.

Sparatus bit his tongue. He still had to negotiate with the Krogan. And they'd probably make similar demands. Of course the Krogan Diplomat Bakara would be a bit more understanding. But her species bred so fast.

"I can't speak for the rest of the Council. But I promise the Turians will support any claims you might make on captured territory. Whatever the consequences might be . . . "

"we have a deal", replied Irissa, "You'll have the full force of the Asari war machine behind you when we invade"

* * *

The Garrison was empty, save for three Asari troopers on their lunch break. On the wall there was an array of unsecured Asari weapons. No one would even think about taking one since the planet was still awash with Turian weapons from the reaper war. So, the garrison didn't have locks or a mass containment field or anything.

Security in general was pretty lax. That's why the infiltration Slog got as far as it did. And why one of those asari was about to die.

There was an alien bark as an ancient chemical propellant weapon spun to life. The Kinetic barriers of the Asari snoozing at the computer station lit up. She dropped the human made pop tart in her hand, and spun around. She got off one shot before her barrier flickered out and a dozen 8 millimeter slugs pounded her armor. None of them penetrated. But the concussive force shattered her rib cage and bone fragments severed a major artery. She lived for 14 seconds after she was hit. Just long enough to see her attackers stealth tech flicker out.

Her attacker wasn't human. It wasn't like anything she'd ever seen before. It's face, the only thing that wasn't armored, was slimy. It had deep set black eyes and an crude open mouth filled with jagged teeth. There was a grin on the things face.

The battle sisters of the fallen asari opened fire on the exposed creature. Their first shots hit against the aliens armored body. It had no legs, instead it had a armored slug like lower half with crude rubber tracks at the bottom for locomotion. It's equally armored upper half was mostly humanoid. Save for the fact that its arms had too many joints, and its hands had too few fingers.

This creature let loose a hideous war cry. It sounds like a pig that was drowning. The Asari were still half stunned by the creature's bellows. Their shots rang out against its armored form and only one found the creatures face. There it did horrible damage. It ripped a hole straight through the entities cheeks made blood pour into the beasts mouth.

But at the end of its garbled scream the creature was still alive. And two words came out. Two words that the asari could understand, "For Humanity!"

There was a flash, followed by a sound so loud that it broke the ear drums of Asari three kilometers away. And a mushroom cloud bloomed on the Asari colonized world that the humans once called Tiptree.

* * *

Shepard was back on the Citadel. Well, the new Citadel. It was a bit like the original. Only with more Varren, and Krogan, and Quarians. Any ways shepard was downing another glass of whiskey. He wasn't really sure how many he had. But he was drinking like crazy because he didn't know when some crazy Enthralled cultist would burst in to take his life.

Shepards head started to swim as he downed one more glass. He looked to his left and right groggily. His mind was numbed but even in this inebriated state his instincts were kicking. He'd never been to this bar before. He'd never met the bartender or the Krogan to his left. He definitely hadn't met the Varren impatiently flipping through the jukeboxes catalogue. That Vorcha, who was wearing a leather jacket and some seriously torn up jeans, wasn't even fully grown yet. They were an Vorcha adolescent so that them like . . . two or something.

But something was familiar. Something was,

"Oh fuck" murmured the commander. He recognized some one. They were an Asari at the end of the bar. Couldn't remember her name or where he'd met her. But Shepard recognized that she was a huntress. And right now she was looking at him.

Commander quickly paid for his many drinks and made a mad shuffle out of the bar. He looked behind him, and then in front of him, and then behind him again. And when he looked back he could see that the huntress was paying for her drink.

Shepard eyed an sex toy shop and lunged into that institution. Seedy venues were practically home turf for the commander. In his drunken state he assumed that being in one would give him an edge, or at least let him hide and escape his pursuer.

"Commander?", asked a floaty voice.

Shepard turned to see three, or maybe it was just one, Hanar in front of him.

"This one is pleased to have such a great hero in their shop. This one survived the reaper war because you prevented the invasion of Kahje. This one will give you a 99% discount on any time in the store"

"Thats really very nice", replied shepard, "But right now this one needs to hide. Asari, blue skin yeah high, she's after me"

"Oh", said the Hanar, "this one thinks that the try before you buy room would be a good hiding place. This one will lock it after you enter to prevent unwanted disruptions"

"Thanks", replied the Commander. Then he winked at the Hanar and said, "I'll talk to you later"

* * *

"Please", the tipsy Admiral Tali vas normandy begged. "i'd go myself but -", she whispered this next part as if it was some kind of secret, "my legs kinda don't work right now"

Councilor Lawsons eye twitched, "I . . . fine, I'll go get the stupid sex toys for you"

* * *

Four hours after entering the Try before you by room, Shepard slipped back out into the store. And he was about to strike a conversation with the friendly Hanar shop owner. That whole plan fell out the window when he ran into that councilor who sent him to Sur'Kesh.

"Miranda"

The human councilor almost jumped out of her skin. She turned to face the dangerous operative that was supposed to be in another galaxy not in a sex shop.

"Shepard, you're -"

"Still alive, Can't say the same for my friend Jondam Bau. He wanted me to tell you something. The Leviathans are trying to take over the galaxy again. We have to do something"

"Of course shepard", replied Counselor Lawson with a steely look in her eye. "But first, we have to buy a vibrator"

Shepard nodded. WIth Lawson's help he'd make the Leviathans pay for what they did. He'd make those motherfuckers pay!

* * *

In depths of expeditionary space there was a research station covered in rust. Thirty thousand citizens used to live there, now it was a faded wreck. A seemingly abandoned monument to the Expeditionary Auxiliary's war years. This station held special importance to the scientist who lived there. It was where their grandfather made humanities friends.

Back then, the UEAG was alone. It was them against the galaxy. So there was a hunger from something, or someone, who could stand by them against forces in front of them. So they made the Slog.

A crude species that mimicked humanity without using any distinctly human DNA. A farce made from slug DNA, frog DNA, Porcine DNA, and DNA taken from an ancient Xeno's specimen.

The Scientist sat, cross legged, before a floating tank. Inside there was a half formed Slog. Its sinous muscle fibers might have disturbed another human. But not this human, no, she was smiling. Here she didn't have to hide her infatuation with the not so human constructs.

"One of your big brothers carried out an attack last week. High command says it was a major success. I wish you could have met them. They were so brave, so very brave."

The scientist cried as she put a hand on the tank.

"I wish we could give you more than a meaningful death. I wish we could give you all a meaningful life or maybe just some good memories. Maybe one day there will be room for you."

The stations back up generators spun to life, illuminating the other 14,000 specimens held on the station.

"A girl can dream, can't she?"


	4. Mercurian Intelligence

**Authors Note:** Hey, so based on some feedback I got, I'll be rewriting chapters 5- 7. Because, um . . . mistakes were made. By me.

* * *

A foreign sunrise on a new world. Back when Aeian was a young Asari maiden she thought it was the best thing ever. And even now, after a century of combat, she still thought it was pretty cool. She got satisfaction from it. Little things like that kept her sane and kept her focused.

She took a deep breath and aimed down her sight. The sniper rilfe in her hand was called a Raptor. It was a human version of a turian gun. Aeian didn't like most human weapons. But this weapon just felt right to her. She liked the way it didn't kick too much. She also liked the way that it left most of the enemy intact.

She still remembered that one time she had to use a M92 mantis on some Batarian crime boss. Aeian had a pretty hard time telling batarians apart when their faces were intact. After she shot that Batarian in the head visual confirmation of the kill was impossible. So she had to collect a blood sample and bring it back to the lab. Which sort of negated the whole point of using a long range sniper rifle since she had to get up close to retrieve that blood sample. And the whole assassination was such a pain. It was mistake compounded by mistake till she left Elysium.

Aeian hoped beyond hope that this conflict wouldn't be like that, or the Reaper war. She didn't want this to be like the reaper war either.

There wasn't much humidity on this world. And since she was stuck up in a bombed out building she couldn't exactly dart off to the nearest mountain stream without attracting unwanted attention. So she was filling a little thirsty.

"Fuck", Aeian whispered with a dry throat, "the turians are moving again"

Interspersed amongst the bombed out buildings there was a whole damn Turian Company. They'd stopped their advance a week ago when they lost their Tyrus tank. A replacement was promised but it never appeared. The enemy had walkers. More than any sane force should have in Aeian's opinion. Oh, and the "martians" loved flamethrowers.

Martian counter attacks led to half a block burning down. Then those flames would attract martian artillery, and the other half of the block would go sky high. In the end Council forces would triumph. But getting to that point was like pulling teeth.

Especially if you were one sniper, stuck in an abandoned building, with a gun plus a few dozen thermal clips to your name.

Aeian aimed down her scope to provide overwatch, and she spotted something. A glimmer from someone else's scope. She threw herself to the floor and felt her teeth chatter. There was a boom. Her ears were ringing. She tried to activate her comms to warn the turians. The channel opened up.

"Get to cover", she screamed.

The ensuing bombardment was alarmingly fierce. First came the low whistling and the low booms. From there it only got louder. And when she thought it had stopped, and she poked her head out of cover, she heard a horrible shriek. The Shriek was getting louder. It kept on getting louder and shriller until her whole world turned to cinder.

Her body was thrust skyward by the blast. The Missile wasn't aimed at her really. It was aimed at the building she was hiding in. It'd entered through the bottom story but the blast had reached her. Even though she was close to the top.

As her body fell to ground she caught one last glimpse of that foreign sun.

* * *

An advanced guard of martian naval infantry pushed forwards. Their body's were hunched over from the gear they carried. But their legs powered them forward like the legs of a jack rabbit. They leapt into new buildings and prepared barricades.

Their commanding Officer, an hulking Lady of fire, reported these gains to higher.

And somewhere on a large screen the battle lines shifter 500 nanometers to represent the gains 7 tons of ordinance had bought.

Back in Citadel Space, an immeasurable distance from the battle lines, the Human councilor sat across from the Salarian counsellor.

The Salarian counsellor explained, "Peace isn't an option. We've already fired on them. And now they've discovered the location of Sur'kesh, and Palavan, and Elysium, and your earth."

Miranda Lawson, the hero turned Counselor bit back, "Don't you see that the war is just a distraction. The Leviathans represent a threat to galactic stability"

"So do the Humans", commented the Asari counsellor.

Sparatus coughed.

Irissa raised an eyebrow, "Counselor Lawson knows I was talking about the other humans. Not the Humans from our milky way galaxy. Suggesting anything else is a disingenuous insinuation"

Lawson bit back a biting remark. She was glad that Irissa was a councillor. She wasn't like Tevos. She wouldn't stab you in the back. She'd slit your throat and string for the world to see. Miranda appreciated that. It was a nice change of pace.

"We need to focus on the real threat", Miranda said, "if the leviathans aren't stopped then we could have another major war on our hands. Something that would put the skirmish we're currently in to shame. We can avert this tragedy. But we all have to work together. If we stand divided then the Leviathans will just use us."

"We have to present a united front", said the Salarian councilor, "on that much we can agree".

Sparatus eyed his counterparts to get a read on them. He detected hostility and distrust. That meant that today probably wasn't the day for some sweeping accord. "Both the Leviathans and this new hostile Human force must be stopped. We can work out the details of our combined assault at a later date"

* * *

Shots raced over the head of Primarch Victus. His kinetic barrier stopped working hours ago. Shrapnel was embedded into his left arm. And after a day of non stop fighting the Primarch really had to sleep, or take a shit.

But that would have to wait. Because half a company of blood thirsty Martians had him cornered. Some suicidal Mantis gunship pilot kept coming back to stall the enemy. But every time that ship had to refuel the martian forces got a little closer.

Victus was hiding out in what looked like a cinema. Well, it looked more like a twisted hunk of concrete from the outside. But the posters on the walls queued Victus on the possibility that this might have been a cinema at some point.

At moments like this Victus almost wished they were in Council space. Then maybe he'd have a better lay of the land. Instead he had to rely on fleeting recollections of the salarians intel brief.

This was originally a human colony protected by an "expeditionary auxiliary" human force. The Auxiliary expeditionary force was eaten by giant varren. Most of the Civilians were eaten or evacuated. And the new force that they had to fight against was Martian. Which suggested that the massive human empire they fought against had the funding to colonize mars.

But they still used chemical ignition small arms. And they favored high bore cartridges, if the bullet holes in the wall behind him were anything to go by.

Victus held his rifle tight. The wall he was hiding behind would give out sooner or later. Outside he could hear shouts. The Mantis gun ships was making another pass. Primarch victus could hear the beautiful sound of its autocannon ripping into armor and flesh.

But the primarchs heart sank when he heard another sound. The sound of an incoming jet. The citadel's flyers didn't make that sound. Victus knew in his old heart what would happen next. He held tight to his rifle, and muttered a prayer to the spirits.

* * *

Commodore Rotministrov reloaded his rifle. The scope on his Baku let him engage targets 500 meters away. He could see his target. The target was 200 meters away. A alien leader was in the bombed out cinema. Their air support was finished. Now it was just them.

Rotministrov looked at the Martian grunts huddled together in the wreckage. Their leader, a Martian Lady of fire, was dead. Together the survivors numbered no more than 20. But perhaps these 20 grunts could alter the outcome of this battle.

The commodore removed his helmet. He stood up and shouted, "I am commodore Rotministrov. And for the sake of Mars, for the good of the Crystal Alliance that we all must defend, the alien in that building must die. Follow me heroes of Mars. Today we give our lives for Queen serenity who sits upon her eternal throne. Charge!"

Primarch Victus Stood up. He aimed his Phaeston out the broken window before him. And he let loose a long vicious burst into the crowd of Martians charging towards him. The Marians were quick. But Victus was a career soldier. He knew how to lead them, and time his shots to pick them off before they got to close.

Their red and black and grey urban camouflage broke up their silhouette in the darkened flaming hellscape that was the battleground. When Victus shot one dead they'll disappear into the rubble. By the Primarchs own count he must've shot down at least a dozen before he had to reload.

Reloading to about a second. In that vital second one of the Martian soldiers, who evidently must've lost his helmet, threw something at Victus's position. The thermal clip went in his rifle. His body hit the floor. Half the theatre caved in as the enemies satchel charge went off.

* * *

Commodore Rotministrov covered his mouth and closed his eyes. Dust flew out and coated him. His skin, once so dark, was now ashen grey. The Martian grunts to his left and right were likewise covered in concrete dust. He could smell and taste the stuff.

"Come on, we have to make sure they're dead"

He leapt charged into the mostly collapsed building with a half cough half war cry. His Martian fellows followed him. Once they got inside they had to slow down. The standard martian grunt carried: a 9.5 x 50 mm rifle, recurve bow, 20 gauge incendiary pistol, two hatchets, six 50 mm High Explosive grenades, two 50 mm Smoke grenades, and an short knife with a 400mm tungsten carbide blade. They wore: a mild steel breastplate, two small mild steel shoulder pads, and a composite helmet with a synthetic sapphire glass visor. With their kit they weighed 140 kilos. They made the bombed out floors creak.

Rotmistrov carefully crept up what looked like stairs. He could see a trail of blood. The blood wasn't red. It was blue. Blue as the hair of Mercury's guardian.

The commodore followed the trail. And he found an alien laying against a wall. The Alien had an assault rifle in hand. It was loaded.

* * *

Victus pulled the trigger. Alas his hand was shaking. So the first burst of fire went a little off target. Instead of blowing out the brains of the enemy in front of him he blew out their knee caps.

More enemies came up the stairs. His next shots were a lot better. They hit center mass and shredded through the enemies chest plates. The round made such a mess. Victus didn't even know why the enemy bothered with whatever poor excuse for armor they had on.

He shot five enemies dead before his hands went limp. He swore at the last two when they charged up the stairs. But words couldn't kill. For Victus the fight was over. He couldn't fight any more. His body wouldn't respond.

"Wait for me Tarquin", murmured the Primarch, "wait for me"

* * *

Sparatus flipped the table. He knocked over the data slab next to him. And he screamed. He took another ragged breath, and he screamed again. Then the Turian picked up one of the chairs in his office and threw it at the bullet proof glass wall he installed two weeks ago. The Chair shattered. The glass wall cracked.

The Turian councilor ripped off his shirt. He threw back his powerful muscular shoulders, and he screamed again.

Three of his sons. Three of them had died on the same day in the same battle. They weren't even serving in the same units. Two of them were on the battlefield in an advisory position.

Sparatus picked up the table he knocked over. He threw that at the bullet proof glass wall. And the glass finally shattered.

The Turian councilor walked out of his office. He was still blind with rage when a young Lieutenant ran up to him.

"Councilor, I have bad news"

"What? What is it Lieutenant", snapped the Turian councilor.

"Primarch Victus is dead. And an attempt was made on the life of Garrus Vakarian"

" This is more than the work of half mad savages", growled Councilor Sparatus, "some one's feeding the enemy intelligence"

"They are?", asked the Lieutenant before Shirtless Sparatus.

"Go. Go back to whoever sent you", Sparatus told the Lieutenant, "I have work to do"

* * *

Two thousand Turian Ships arrived in system. Of this number half were troop ships, and 32 were dreadnaughts.

The Enemy Navy, which had recently achieved orbital supremacy over the Human planet of Sundry, was made up of 37 frigates and one Munin class Destroyer.

The enemy retreated.


End file.
